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Frank Lampard has hit back at critics who claim Chelsea’s squad is too old to win the Barclays Premier League this season.

Chelsea have started the new campaign with three successive victories, including 6-0 routs of both West Bromwich Albion and Wigan while they are yet to concede a goal.

Much has been made of the age of the Blues’ senior men, like Lampard, 32, captain John Terry, 29, and striker Didier Drogba, who will be 33 in March.

However, England midfielder Lampard – who is currently sidelined by a hernia problem which forced him out of Friday night’s opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley – rejects any suggestions the Chelsea players are over the hill.

Speaking to the October edition of the club’s official magazine, Lampard declared: ‘It is a load of rubbish when I hear talk about there only being one or two years left in our spine. This has been going on for a year or so.

‘Sometimes that is mind games from other managers or press talk and we proved them wrong last year.

‘We have got players here who are experienced and you can’t buy experience in football – look at Didier, he is a specimen and he will overpower any 24- or 25-year-old.

‘People have been waxing lyrical about Paul Scholes, and rightly so, because if you take him out of the United team now, they will want to replace him and they probably won’t be able to.’